See You Again
by renzie17
Summary: They meet in the middle of a mess in a train to Ba Sing Se. They didn't think they'd meet again. AU For Zutara Week 2015 Day 1!


ZKweek15 Day 1: Happenstance

Warnings: none

SEE YOU AGAIN

I.

The soft rattling of the wheels and the occasional sneeze and murmuring were the sounds that filled the public train headed into the Earth Kingdom city of Ba Sing Se. It was a long way from the outer ring, taking an hour if you were headed towards the middle ring, forty minutes if the earth benders controlling the speed of the train were fast. The train had just departed from the outer ring, transporting families, refugees, travelers and the like into the city.

All the other compartments in the train were full save for the one at the end of a train where a boy—man? teenager?—sat by the window facing the back of the train, the hood of his black sweater falling on his eyes. Katara knocked and excused herself, explaining that all the others were full. The person just nodded and continued to look out the window.

She took the seat by the door, facing the front of the train and set her large duffle bag beside her. The silence was back—a little awkward, but manageable.

And the train went on and minutes passed. The silence droned in and it was getting comfortable for Katara as she read a book she took out from her smaller bag until the lights suddenly turned off and the train halted to a stop, forcing her to topple out of her seat.

"Quick!" the guy by the window said urgently. Katara's heart beat fast in nervousness. She didn't know who this guy was and what he was capable of doing. "Lock the door."

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Lock the door!" he insisted and stumbled past her to do it himself. She yelped as he moved over her to reach for the compartment lock and slumped to the ground beside her.

"What was that all about?" Katara hissed.

"I heard about train raids at the outer ring," the guy—Katara didn't want to call him a man yet, he looked just about her age, or a year or two older—explained in a whisper, "The lights turn out and the train's stopped because the robbers either throw the operators off their posts or pick a fight with them. Then they infiltrate the train and threaten people to get them to give their stuff."

Sure enough, there was a scream and someone's booming voice echoed from the outside, demanding to give him their things. Shouts and gasps started to echo throughout the train and doors were forcefully yanked open. Katara's heart was beating hard against her chest as she and the guy stayed low in front of the door.

When she felt a presence on the other side she held her breath and when the man decided no one was inside—her duffle bag blended in the darkness, thank the Spirits—he moved to join his fellow crooks. Katara relieved her breath. That was _too_ close.

There was a shuffle and a voice declaring the robbers' arrest. A fight broke out as rocks from the train's earth resounded along the hallway. Dust came in through the gap between the door and the floor and the two people in the last compartment muffled coughs and breaths.

Then it was silent save for a shuffle and a few footsteps. Ten minutes later, the lights turned back on. Katara squinted her eyes after the shock of the sudden brightness and then she herself was in for a shock at the man in front of her.

She didn't mean to feel that way and if he had resented her for it, her defense could only have been she was surprised at the angry red burn on the left side of his face. She didn't think the guy—she was going to refer to him as 'the guy' for he looked far too old to be considered as just a boy and far too young to be considered as a man—noticed her shock, though, as his eyes were still closed in the new brightness.

Wide-eyed, she shuffled back to her row and sidled up to the window-seat. She tried to focus on other things like her bag and her book, but she couldn't stop thinking about the scar.

"You okay, er…" the guy asked and Katara looked back up to him. This time she thought he looked quite handsome even with the scar. His features were that of the Fire Nation, she noticed, pale skin, dark hair, sharp golden eyes.

"Katara," she breathed, "Yeah, I'm fine…?"

"Lee."

"I'm fine, Lee."

 _Must be from the colonies_ , she thought. Lee was a very common name in the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation.

The train started to move and a more comfortable silence settled between the two. But now Katara was curious. She was talking to a stranger! She'd always wanted to have a conversation with a stranger! It was a scene from the movers! The girl talks to a random stranger in a train and they end up liking each other and getting married and—

She stopped herself from thinking and her thoughts ended in _what even, Katara?_

But she was moving faster than she was thinking.

"You live in Ba Sing Se, Lee?"

The guy looked back at her as if thinking of what to say. "No," he said, looking down at his hands on his lap.

"Then what are you doing here?" She almost hit herself—mentally, she did, though—for asking too many questions.

He looked back at her, this time his gaze was questioning and evaluating her tone and body language. His golden eyes, she noted, were sharp around the edges as if always calculating. Katara didn't break contact.

"I'm traveling."

Katara perked up at this. A traveler! She'd always wanted to see the world!

"That's so cool!" she exclaimed, "That's one of my ultimate goals, you know!"

Lee's face, to Katara's relief, softened. His mouth almost looked like he was smiling. "What about you?" he asked.

"I'm going to Ba Sing Se University," Katara shrugged and smiled, but not proudly. It was more like she was showing him just who she was in society—a mere student looking for purpose in the world.

"What are you studying?" Lee asked, perking up himself.

"World Bending History and Forms. Last year I was back at the North Pole studying Water Bending while working on my own forms. This year it's earth"

"You bend?"

"Water, yeah." She smiled, glad that they were talking and that he was mildly interested in their conversation. Katara thought Lee might be a bender too.

"If you're working on Earth this year, next you'll be working on Fire next, like in the Avatar Cycle, right?"

Katara nodded and grimaced, "But with the stuff happening in the Fire Nation lately, I think I might get delayed. We're required to study in the land the element is from."

Lee only nodded.

And things _were_ a mess in the Fire Nation lately. There was a civil war between the government and a rebelling group that quickly gained a following from more than half of the citizens. It seemed they wanted to break free from the dictatorship of the Fire Lord and demanded a shift to a democratic system of government. Things were crazy and, really, Katara didn't blame Lee if he was traveling only to seek refuge in the great Earth Kingdom capital. Tons of other people have probably already done the same.

"I heard the prince and princess are missing," Katara added.

"I heard they ran away," Lee replied without missing a beat.

She raised an eyebrow at him, "Why do you think that?"

He only shrugged, "I guess if I were them, I'd want a democracy, too. I'm tired of the Fire Lord's bullshit idea that the Fire Nation's a superior race. My uncle always told me there should be a balance.

"I'm not sure about the princess, though. I heard she's crazy."

Katara laughed. "That's crazy, though. Leaving their father without support. And the Fire Lady left them a long time ago, right?"

"She was banished." Lee looked outside the window where plains and houses passed by on the ground below them. It was silent again.

The train was slowing down and their time was cut short. The other passengers were already taking their bags and getting ready to leave. A security officer knocked on their door and said that if the thugs took anything they could claim it outside with the other stuff.

Katara and Lee waited for the rush of the other passengers to pass and moved out towards the platform together, making small conversation about the weather and the latest mover. People from all four nations moved along, greeting acquaintances, friends and family. The two strangers made it through the buzz and out into the warm Earth Kingdom sun that hit the Middle Ring ground; their paths bound to part.

"I'm supposed to meet a representative from BSSU here in a few minutes," Katara, the more enthusiastic conversationalist, told him.

"Oh, well, I guess I'll see you when I do?"

"Definitely." Katara smiled at him ad held his gaze. He held hers, too, for a few seconds but broke it off sooner. "Bye, Lee."

He only nodded.

II.

She saw him again after her Earth Kingdom Philosophy 1 class, two months later. She was on the way back to her dorm behind the university to get her book for Earth Arts and Culture she left by accident.

He was riding a bicycle in a pale green shirt, pants and a military green apron. It was an odd sight and she almost didn't recognize him for a second if it weren't for the red of his scar that made him stand out. He almost crashed into an old professor when she called him and was apologizing profusely to the old lady when she ran to him.

"Kids these days," the old lady muttered as she walked on her way. Katara was trying to hold in her laughter until the old lady was out of earshot (or at least as far as old ears could hear).

She looked at him, eyes briefly brushing the red on his face before focusing on his gold eyes. "It's good to see you, Lee!"

"Y-yeah." He was taking off his apron and dusting off the dirt on his clothes. Katara couldn't help but notice his muscles flex on his arms they weren't cringe-worthy big, but they were noticeable and just right and… Warmth pooled to her stomach and she mentally hit herself because of him again.

"You're working now?"

"Yeah." He put his apron on the basket attached to the front of his bike. Then he finally looked at her and she thought she saw him blanch.

"How old are you?" She blurted out. /Me and my big mouth!/ Katara mentally hit herself again. She thought her mental self might have already had a bump on the head.

Lee looked flustered at her question and she noticed a small blush forming on his cheeks. She held in a giggle.

"Twenty-two," he said with a little more confidence than he showed.

"You have dust on your hair."

He started dusting the thick black strands. His hair was in a mess that made her smile. He looked half his age at that moment and Katara thought it was rather cute. And above all she was just happy to see a more familiar and quite a different face in the capital—almost everyone else had green or brown eyes and an Earth Kingdom accent.

"Are you going anywhere? I could drop you off," he suddenly said and gestured to his bike. It had a pair of passenger platforms on the sides of the wheels at the back to stand on.

"Are you going to the back of the U?"

"Er… no, but—."

"Then it's fine, Lee. You might get late or something and it's gonna be all my fault," Katara said, hiding the disappointment in her voice.

"Alright, if you insist." He climbed on his bicycle, but, with a pause, asked, "How old are _you_?"

Katara smiled cheekily at him, "Twenty. I'll see you later, then?"

"Sure." And he rode off.

III.

She saw him for a third time at a tea shop Jin from Earth Kingdom History 1 had recommended her for a long time with the description, "Good tea, good vibes and a good looking waiter," and a giggle. That was five months ago and winter had already passed. It was the second month of the year and plant life was starting to spring from the cold depths of winter.

Katara figured it was the perfect time for a nice, warm cup of jasmine tea. And about time for her to pay a visit to the tea shop, too.

 _The Jasmine Dragon_ , it said on the entrance in fancy golden characters on a green backdrop. Katara thought Jin might have been lying about the price being cheap. Her family _did_ live in the Upper Ring.

Chimes on the entrance tingled and she was inside. A soothing fragrance welcomed her and the cozy ambiance the place gave off created good vibes for everyone to enjoy. There were couches and circular tables arranged around the room. The counter was at the north corner of the room, directly across the entrance and a girl, about as she was, greeted her nicely from behind it.

There was a modern Zen kind of feeling in the place. The walls were white and the tables a light shade of brown with small potted plants scattered strategically around the place. Soft jazz played through speakers. It was a cozy kind of beautiful.

And Jin _wasn't_ lying. The prices for the tea were quite affordable.

After placing her order, she sat on a cushioned chair by a window over-looking the university—it was just across the main building, the grassy lawns where students hang around leisurely and the old trees on which carvings by students of years ago were still in tact were captured in the frame.

She was looking through the window when a tray was placed on her tabletop. She looked at her waiter and, much to her surprise, a familiar face. A smile spread through her own.

"Lee!"

The guy almost dropped the cup he was holding—and it was a good thing he had already put down the pot, too. He looked surprised, himself and returned her greeting.

"Hey, Katara."

"So this is where you work, huh?"

"Pretty much." He shrugged, pouring some tea into her cup, as it was his job. "Try it, it's really good."

She did, and it was. The perfect brew, if she could say so herself. Katara had never tasted anything like it. Before she could exclaim a comment, an old man came to stand behind him.

"I see you've met a new friend, Junior." Lee visibly winced at the nickname, "Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon, my dear. I hope you like our tea."

"Uncle—."

"It's excellent, sir! Incredible, really!"

"Thank you. I brew them myself," he said, but there was no trace of bragging in his tone. He sounded more like it was the tea's fault it was so good. "Just the right mix brewed at just the right length of time."

"Katara, this is my uncle Mushi." The man visibly winced at the nickname, but if Katara noticed, they couldn't tell. "He runs this place."

"Nice to meet you, sir."

"Junior, why don't you take a break. Have some tea."

"I'm fine, Uncle," Lee hissed.

"No, I insist!" Mushi winked at them, "Katara, that tea is on the house. Enjoy, you two!"

Lee kept calling his uncle, but Katara pulled him around and insisted he sit down. He did, eventually and his uncle came back to put another cup in front of his nephew and told them he was getting another pot ready so they could share the first one.

When he left, Katara let go of the giggles she was suppressing brought by the look on her new friend's face.

"Your uncle's nice," she told him, he only scoffed and scowled some more.

"I guess he is," Lee said sheepishly.

They were quiet again. All their chance meetings were kind of overwhelming her, but Katara was thankful to the Spirits, nonetheless. Seeing Lee again spiced up her whole Earth Kingdom adventure.

"How's school?" he asked, and she looked back at him, glad that he was starting conversation this time.

"It's fine," kind of. "Exams are coming, but I don't wanna stress myself again."

"Again?"

"Last time, I forgot parts of the chronology of the first half of the Western Earth Kingdom civilization and almost flunked big time."

"Yikes," he said.

"Tell me about it," she grimaced. "What about you?"

"I'm . . . still here, I guess."

"Not traveling anywhere else soon?"

"I don't know. I might be going home in a month or something."

"Oh…"

Katara was a little dismayed. She liked Lee and they've barely had a decent conversation yet. But the Fire Nation was getting better and he was probably ready to go home.

"You live in the Fire Nation, right?"

"Y-yeah…" She looked at him. She had gotten used to just looking at him and not his scar. But she had always wondered what it was that gave it to him.

And she was just looking at him and he at her. She noticed a new feeling surging from Lee's stoic face that turned it into a scowl.

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I lied."

They were silent again. Jazz music drifted through the air as well as fragrances of tea and the sounds of pages being turned.

"What do you mean?"

He stood up to leave, but Katara was faster. She swiftly grabbed his wrist before he could move away. She looked at him, eyes conveying more than just the question she had asked last.

The guy sat down and exhaled. "I'm not sure I can tell you."

"I promise to keep it a secret." And she did intend to keep it at that. The guy had already grown on her.

He skeptical for a moment, determined, the next. He looked around to check if anyone was listening and Katara swallowed. _What could it be?_ Her brows furrowed and lean forward. The guy did the same.

"My name isn't really Lee." Katara head twitched sideward, thinking what the hell this guy was playing at. "Katara, please. It's hard enough that I'm telling you this. And I'll only say this once, but my name's really Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation."

She gaped at him, closing her mouth when she noticed it was even open.

"What?" That was all she could really muster up to say.

"Katara, please." His raspy voice was but a whisper now in the quiet surroundings. Katara leaned in close that her face was right in front of his. This was the closest she's ever had him, she thought, and a blush crept up her face. "My sister and I ran away to avoid the conflict in the Capitol. I only convinced her to keep away from all this and would have failed if her friends didn't back me up and that took us _years_."

Katara looked into his eyes and could tell that he was sincere. She nodded.

"But why are you telling me this?" she asked cautiously.

"Because I trust you."

And it all suddenly made sense. He knew what was happening in the Fire Nation too well for a colonial. And the burn on his face was suddenly familiar, like she'd seen it on the newspapers some time ago. Her eyes widened.

"You believe me now?" he asked.

"You're telling the truth," she replied.

"And let me tell you the whole truth."

It seemed he _did_ trust her somehow.

IV.

The last time she saw him in the Earth Kingdom was when he was about to depart from the train station a month later. The uprising won and the Fire Nation was getting ready for a shift in government (but with a lot of compromise) and Zuko, as well as his sister, Azula, was needed in the country.

In the past month, however, Zuko and Katara had been telling nothing but truths to each other in the Jasmine Dragon. Turns out Zuko's unlce Mushi was actually a man named Iroh, an ex-general and brother of the ex-Fire Lord. Zuko had already graduated from college with a degree in political science and that his sister was taking the same course

Katara, never having lied in the first place, told him more about the other things she left out. Her brother Sokka was currently enrolled in Kiyoshi University with a major in Mechanical Engineering. Her father was their tribe's chief and manages the ins and outs of the Southern Water Tribe.

They also told each other the darker things: how Zuko got his scar, what his mother said when she left, how Katara's own mother died to protect her. A form of trust had solidified itself on their relationship and it really made them great . . . friends? That wasn't what either of them would call it anymore, believing they were way past that, but refusing to acknowledge it.

They sat on a waiting bench on the station before Zuko left. He had really grown on her since he introduced himself to her, and she'd been growing on him since the moment he met her. But their paths divide from this point. Long goodbyes were always the worst. She had enough of that with her father and Sokka.

"I'll write to you," he said, and it was painfully cliché, but he meant it and he was going to do it.

"I'll write, too," she smiled at him, but it was hard to smile now that he was really about to leave. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"I'll be studying in the Fire Nation next year. You know what that means?"

"That you'll finally be able to get me those sea prunes you always talk about.

Katara laughed. She couldn't wait to have him taste those! All her friends hated it! "Okay, yeah. But besides that!"

"We can see each other again?"

Her face softened. It was another semester away, two seasons at least. She hated long goodbyes. They were always so hard.

"Yeah," she said.

The train operators called and that was their signal. Zuko took her hand in his and surprise filled Katara's face. He squeezed and she squeezed back.

"I'll see you again," he said and took off, his hand lingering on hers for a second longer.

"Yeah," she mouthed. She didn't know if he heard it, but he did looked back and waved at her.

Two months were a long wait.

\- o -

NOTE: Hello! I didn't intend it to be _that_ long, but huzzah! Also, if it wasn't obvious, I wasn't really into this prompt. lol But I tried and I had the idea for a long time and never got down to writing it because the other ideas I have for the other prompts are much more interesting. hahaha But I hope you liked it. ( Y o Y )/

Happy Zutara Week!


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